Her Guardian Wolf (Sawtooth Shifters Book 2)

by Kristen Strassel

  Baron rolled out of his jeans, his round, firm ass high in the air as he stepped out of them. I grabbed it, digging my fingers into his hip as I pulled him back into my body. Catching his lips in a kiss, I took his cock in my hand. Holy shit, this thing was huge. I pumped back and forth, rolling my thumb over the tip. Baron’s head snapped back, and I was pretty sure he’d howl.

  Crap. “Do you have any condoms?” I asked.

  “Nope.” He sighed, disgusted. “Don’t keep them at my mom’s house, and we were in such a rush to get to you girls—“

  “Can you even get me pregnant?” I was possibly stressing myself out over nothing.

  Baron sat up. “We’ve always been told to be careful, but no one I know has ever gotten a human pregnant. I’d never call us lucky, more like science isn’t on our side.” The light in his eyes changed. “But I hope I can. Eventually. I know that’s a little intense since we’re still getting to know each other, but when I look in the future, I’d really like to have you in it, Kiera.”

  My heart, under all that scar tissue, threatened to burst. “I’d like that.” I pulled him back into the kiss. “But if we don’t fuck tonight, there’s not going to be any future. We’re both going to explode.”

  I wondered what he meant by the science thing, but I’d ask him later. We had other things to do right now.

  Baron burst out laughing, his head against my chest. His touching my scars was getting less weird, and I wanted more, no matter where it was. “You sure?” he asked.

  “Positive.”

  “Good, because I think you’re right.” Baron rolled back. It gave me a chance to admire the muscle and power of his body. He brushed the skin below my belly button before unbuttoning my jeans, slowly sliding them down my legs. He kissed the top of my thigh on my good leg, and then repeated the gesture where the scar tissue ended on the other side. His fingers swirled along my skin, so gentle yet it made everything inside me jump and pulse. Coming back to my panties, he brushed his lips over my mound. My hips thrust up off the bed, begging for more. I got it when he dipped lower, massaging my pussy through the cotton. I writhed under his touch, twisting the comforter in my hands for a whole different reason now.

  He kissed the same spot on my belly before he ripped the fabric away from me.

  I shrieked. Baron’s expression had changed. He didn’t look so tame anymore as his tongue dipped to the line of hair he’d exposed. “All I could think about was tasting every inch of you while I was gone,” he rumbled. The vibration sent shockwaves through the entire region. When his tongue slipped quickly into my slit, my head fell back. It had been too long since I’d felt anything like this. “It’s perfect that tonight’s our first night together because all my senses are still wolf. And you taste like heaven.” He sighed.

  Baron had been starving for this. Hooking my leg over his shoulder, he wasn’t so gentle any more, licking, sucking and nipping at my clit. He slipped two fingers inside me, then another, curling them forward, circling so many times I saw stars. Tremors rollicked my core, coming to the surface, needing to escape, but Baron didn’t stop. I would’ve fucking killed him if he stopped.

  “What are you doing?” I could barely speak. He rolled off me, leaning against the wall. A sheen of sweat covered his body. His eyes were closed and his chest heaved, trying to catch his breath.

  His eyes flicked open, and a grin that could’ve sent me straight into another orgasm spread across his face. “Your turn.”

  “Oh,” I said, my body still shaking as I pulled myself up into sitting position. “I see how you are. You’re going to make me do all the work.”

  “Bullshit,” he scoffed, the smile about to split his face. “You just reaped the rewards of my work, so I thought maybe you’d like an opportunity to take the lead.”

  I yanked his hair so we were eye to eye. “You have no idea how much I’d like that.” I shook even harder, not expecting to have a chance to play by my rules.

  Baron groaned. “Then show me. Because I’d like that, too.” His voice shook.

  The possibilities were so exciting. “Would you?” I’d never had such a beautiful, powerful plaything at my disposal before. He’d just given me control, but I had no idea where to start.

  His Adam’s apple bobbed as I ran my fingers up the line of his stomach. So many options. I could bind his arms behind his back, blindfold him, making him get on his knees and put my foot on his shoulder while I demanded he lick my pussy. I didn’t want any of that tonight. Instead I straddled him, tipping his face up to mine. Gold streaks swirled with anticipation in his eyes, and it made me dizzy. “Hold your cock steady for me,” I whispered. His hand moved, obeying my command. “You’ve already got me crazy. But now that I know you’re into that, which by the way is the best thing you could’ve ever told me, my mind is spinning, coming up with things to do to you.”

  His whole body shuddered. I loved that I could have that kind of effect on him with just words. Lowering myself down on his shaft slowly, Baron’s cock stretched me as far as I could go. It had been a long time since I’d felt so full. So complete. He was completely sheathed inside me, and he cupped my chin in his hand. “You’ve always made me crazy, Kiera.”

  He kissed me slow and as hot and tight as his cock inside me. We were going to be a perfect fit, in so many ways. I rose to my knees, riding his shaft, never breaking the kiss. It was the hottest part of the whole thing, the way we couldn’t get enough of each other, speaking a language only our bodies understood. Baron pistoned his hips up, needing even more of me, every last bit I could give him. I fucked him until my knees gave out, my orgasm shutting down my body, collapsing on top of him.

  “You’re not done yet, are you?” I asked. Baron shook his head. I crawled to the head of the bed, limbs trembling, and collapsed on my back. “Put it in my mouth.”

  Making a sound that was a cross between a sigh and a groan, Baron met me at the pillows, as unsteady as I was. He offered me his cock, and I came up on an elbow, taking it in my hand. He was slick with my arousal and I intended on returning the favor. I pulled on his shaft hard, closing my hand down over the tip. Baron’s shoulders slumped forward. He made a noise like he wanted to tell me something, but couldn’t form words. I licked the tip and was rewarded with similar grunts. Fuck, I loved this. He’d totally given his body to me. He trusted me to hit the little red button that would make everything explode.

  I loved the way Baron tasted. It was our union, the two of us together. Nothing else on earth could ever create that flavor, and I wasn’t going to miss a drop of it. I clamped down hard, sucking and stroking his shaft, cupping his balls. It was no surprise when they hitched toward his body. Baron’s bones turned to jelly and he cried out as he came. My heart swelled, knowing I did that to him. Not just with my hands and mouth, but he felt that strongly about me. We’d created this together, and it belonged to us.

  Baron stopped me from wiping off my mouth when I finished, instead he licked his come from my lips and chin. “Holy shit, Kiera.” His voice was hoarse like he’d been screaming. Maybe I didn’t even hear him when I’d floated in to my own euphoria. “Everyone always said I’d know when I found the one, but I thought it was bullshit.” More kisses rained down over my face and neck before he continued. “But now I know what they were talking about.”

  Just like my fairy tale I wrote as a kid. Well, a lot dirtier than that. But I’d been on the right track.

  Chapter Nine

  Baron

  “How did you know?” Kiera asked the next morning. We’d already hit snooze more than once, and work at Forever Home started before dawn. We were tangled together, sheets snaking between our bodies. Neither of us had made any attempt to get out of bed, but we instinctively reached for each other, our hands roaming and exploring like we could make the night last forever.

  “Kiera.” I laughed. “You don’t have a submissive bone in your body.” I’d known it all along but after last night’s careful exploration, I could sa
y it with absolute certainty.

  She sat up, the sheet falling away from her body, I ran my fingers over her nipple then fell to the scars. Fuck, she flinched. I hated that. I didn’t want her to apologize for the thing that made her the strongest. “And you’re cool with it?” She bit her lip, unsure of herself. “No man has ever handed me the reins before. It’s fucking exciting.”

  “I’m a beta. I’m built to take commands.” My whole body was painfully on point. Any minute I knew Lyssie would knock on the door. Kiera and mornings were not friends. We couldn’t get lost in each other. “I’m excited, too. I’ve never let anyone do this, either.”

  Kiera and I were going to have a lot of firsts together. This was the first time I’d woken up next to a woman I’d had sex with. Anyone before this had been a drunken romp, a faceless need for release. I was tired of pretending I was something I wasn’t, and denying myself what I really wanted.

  “We need to talk about stuff.” Kiera had settled against her pillow again, no intention of going anywhere. Temptation rocked through my body, but Lyssie knocked before I had a chance to touch her. Kiera grimaced in the direction of the door. “I don’t want to mess this up, Baron.”

  “You can’t.” I sat up, pulling her upright along with me, and rewarding her with a kiss. She had no idea how much we had to talk about. This shift had changed everything. “Let’s go to the shelter and check on Shadow.”

  KIERA GRABBED MY ARM before we walked in. She had her giant travel mug full of coffee in the other, and she was still pretty grumpy. “I’m scared for Trina. I’m scared for Shadow, too, but she won’t be able to handle it if he’s hurt. She keeps saying it’s her fault.”

  I raised an eyebrow, apprehensive about what we might find, too. “Why?”

  “Beats the hell out of me.” We looked over to Lyssie; she shrugged, having no explanation. Dallas stood behind her, just as nervous as I was.

  “Did she go to war too?” I asked.

  “No.” Kiera put her head down, heading up the stairs. “That’s up to her to tell you. We don’t kiss and tell around here.”

  The girls squealed and I saw why once I entered the room. Shadow stood, tall and human, in the middle of the shelter. I hugged him, clapping my hand on his back. “Glad to see you, man.”

  “How’d it go the other night?” Shadow wasted no time getting down to business.

  Dallas took the lead. “We followed Major to Ryker’s land, because we decided to let him see what you’d done with his own eyes. The whole way there, he was talking shit, figuring you were too much of a pussy to take care of business. The look on his face, Shadow.” He slapped his thigh. “Man, I’m sorry you missed it.”

  “What about Ryker’s men? Were they still there?” Shadow asked.

  “For the most part. Some ran when they had the chance.” I knew that would piss him off, and he wasn’t going to like my next thought, either. “Some of them are shifters. I wonder if they were old fighters, wolves he had in the ring before us. In exchange for their ‘freedom,’ they had to serve him. You know how he liked to play games.”

  Shadow’s expression sobered. “I never thought of that.” He shook his head, leaning against the window. The girls worked in the background, but all of them were paying more attention to us than their tasks. “We’ve got to get back there, put new structure into place, and make them trust us. I can’t have Major there fishing for recruits.”

  “I need to talk to you about that,” I said quickly. No need to waste any more time.

  Shadow walked toward Trina as he talked, taking a crate from her. “Make it quick, Baron. We’ve got a lot of ground to cover. I couldn’t have been down for the count at a worse time.”

  “Not here.” It wasn’t a secret, but I didn’t want an audience. “Outside.”

  Shadow put the crate down, mashing his lips together to hold in an argument. “Fine. Hurry up. The ladies are doing all the heavy lifting.”

  He followed me outside, and I leaned against my truck. “I’m not fighting this war anymore.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “I want out of the pack.” No reason to dance around it with bullshit. And if I tried to make it sound like less than it was, I’d get less than I wanted. Shadow was going to see this as weak, and I had to prove it was just the opposite.

  Shadow’s eyes almost popped out of his head. “You’ve got to be shitting me. It doesn’t work that way. You’re my brother.” He shook his head, his jaw set hard and angry. Shadow had been practicing his alpha role with us for years. He had no tolerance for deviances from his plan.

  “I’ll always be your brother, Shadow. I’ll support you no matter what.” I had to get this right, or he’d rope me back in. “But I can’t be your soldier. Channings keep peace, but we’ve been aggressors since we were rescued. I can’t be proud of that.”

  “Channings protect,” Shadow corrected me. “That’s exactly what we’ve been doing. Nobody at Forever Home should lose a second of their lives worrying what’s going to happen to them because they did the right thing. Violence disgusts me, Baron. But when it’s the only currency you have, you have to pay up.”

  “Kiera didn’t wipe out in the mountain the other night. One of Ryker’s guys got her.” I swallowed hard, I’d planned on taking this secret to my grave, but now everyone knew. “I chased him down and beat him to death.”

  “You did the right thing,” Shadow said quietly. “He would’ve done the same thing to any of us if he had the chance.”

  “Did I? Because every time I close my eyes, all I can see is the pulp of his face melting the snow.” I shuddered. The image was back. The man’s eyes unfocused, frozen in that awful moment forever. The last thing he saw was the branch coming down to meet his skull. “If that’s the right thing, I can’t do that, Shadow. I’ll always support you, but I can’t kill.”

  He chuckled, wiping his hand over his face. “I’m not surprised.” His eyes shifted to the forest. “You don’t mind reaping the rewards, but when it comes to the hard and ugly shit, you’re nowhere to be found.”

  “What the hell are you talking about? I’ve done everything you’ve asked of me.” I wasn’t going to fall prey to the guilt. He wanted to make me prove myself. I’d taken a life. There was no bigger price I could pay unless I gave my own. “I won’t constantly be on the attack, trading one enemy for the next. Ryker’s gone.”

  “Then there shouldn’t be an issue.” Shadow crossed his arms, giving me a chance to beg for his acceptance. Nope. I couldn’t give him any openings. “I don’t like this, Baron. You’re not making things easy for me. I wanted you by my side when I went to talk to Major. He’ll notice you aren’t there.”

  “I’ll be there for you in other ways. We’ll get the business up and running. Anything else you ask, but I won’t fight.”

  Shadow nodded, his hand on the doorknob. “If I find out you’re working with Major, we’re not brothers anymore.”

  Chapter Ten

  Kiera

  “Now that Jolie and Dex are back, we need to make some room in here,” Trina said. Jolie and Dex were two of our German Shepherds who the Channings had rescued from Ryker’s farm the other night. The couples that adopted them totally pulled the wool over our eyes. We never for a second thought they were dirtbags who’d do that to a dog. We were beating ourselves up that we let two of our own go to such a nightmare. They hadn’t been there long enough to get the full Ryker treatment, but we were making sure to give them all the extra TLC we could. “We’ve talked about you two taking a foster. I think you’re more than ready.”

  Not so long ago, neither Lyssie or I would’ve been able to handle this. We hadn’t been capable of giving or receiving affection. Now I realized how much I’d been starving for it all along. It was one of those sobering moments when I realized how far I’d actually come since working at Forever Home.

  “When are you putting the photos up on the website?” Before all hell broke loose with the Channings and the
full moon, we had our monthly photo shoot. I loved the way the animals seemed to know what was going on. They all hammed it up for the camera, curious about the flashy thing in front of my face. I got some really amazing captures. Hopefully it would do the trick.

  “Today. Next order of business, barring an outbreak of mayhem and foolishness, which is just how we roll.” Trina giggled. She was floating on air now that Shadow had shifted. I can’t remember ever seeing her so happy. I could imagine, from the way they were always all over each other, that she’d given him a pretty solid welcome back. “So who do you think you’re going to pick? Figure it out, because they’re going home with you tonight.”

  I realized I hadn’t paid that much attention to Lyssie today. She always made sure I was awake, or else I’d hit snooze until noon. Usually we chatted on the way to work. Well, she’d talk and I’d grunt between sips of coffee. Since we had company this morning, we drove with our guys separately. And I’d been preoccupied since we got here, daydreaming of having Baron in my bed again. Next to Trina, Lyssie looked gray. Shit.

  “Who do you think we should take?” I asked her, standing in the middle of the play room. Most of the dogs and cats were out, weaving between our legs or batting a ball around the room. Others slept in their crates with open doors. I loved that. They didn’t see it as a jail, just as a place to chill. “I wouldn’t mind taking someone who’s been here for a while, like Fluffy.” Fluffy was a bearded lizard with the best smile ever. He didn’t do much besides sunbathe and torture crickets before deciding to eat them, but he was pretty rad. And he had no hope of getting his forever home. When he was lucky enough to get noticed, he was usually greeted with a jump and a shriek.